The lawyers representing ousted chief executive officer (CEO) Carlos Ghosn have hit back at fraud claims by automotive giant Nissan.
The defense lawyers of former CEO Carlos Ghosn ridiculed the fraud claims by Nissan, calling the company's investigation biased and lacked integrity. Nissan says Ghosn misused the firm's money for events abroad.
The automobile firm claimed that its joint venture with Renault spent €3.9 million on Ghosn's personal expenses. The said alleged events included a party at the Palace of Versailles and trips to Rio de Janeiro carnivals.
Ghosn's lawyers argued that the company's investigation is biased and designed to publicly smear him. They added that the firm never interviewed him or his aide, Greg Kelly, who also faces criminal charges in Japan.
On December 29, Ghosn fled from Japan to Lebanon to escape charges of financial misconduct. He later conducted a news conference in Beirut and called his decision to flee the most difficult of his life.
He denied all charges and called Japan's justice system "rigged". His aide, Mr. Kelly, remains in Japan on bail.
In a report submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday, Nissan specified "personal expenses of Mr Ghosn" which it claimed were "unrelated to corporate purposes". Among those listed were dinners at the Marmottan Museum in Paris, guest entertainment at the Cannes Film Festival, and jewelry purchased at Cartier stores.
The report also claims that the company paid $750,000 in advisory fees to Ghosn's sister, and that he used the corporate jet "for purposes that were highly likely unrelated to [company] business".
However, the defense lawyers said: "This report confirms that Nissan's investigation was biased, lacked integrity and independence and was designed and executed for the predetermined purpose of taking out Carlos Ghosn."
Both Ghosn and Kelly are accused by Japanese authorities of under-reporting Ghosn's compensation by more than $80 million and Ghosn has also been charged with aggravated breach of trust.
In related news, Carlos Ghosn’s lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, and seven other members of his defense team have resigned following his escape to Lebanon.
